MINNEAPOLIS — When Tariq Owens stepped foot on the U.S. Bank Stadium floor Saturday night, he expected to be awash with emotions.
About how far he has come as a player. His decision to leave St. John’s for Texas Tech that has led to him living out his dreams at the Final Four. All the sacrifices his father has made in his life.
But at the top of the list would be his mother, Cassandra Wallace.
“I think about her every day. There’s not a day I go out and play it’s not for her,” Texas Tech’s 6-foot-11 graduate senior recalled. “I made a promise to my mom that I would do everything I could with basketball, keep myself out of trouble, keep myself focused. I try to honor that promise every day.”
Nine years ago, when Owens was 14, Wallace died after a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer, leaving his father, Renard Owens, to take care of Tariq and his two sisters. Tariq became closed off, sitting by his mother’s bedside as she fought the disease. Basketball became his outlet, the place he could channel his frustrations.
“I didn’t really talk much during that time, so it became a way for me to express myself, and get my emotions out,” he said. “I could go to the basketball court, exert myself and get everything out.”
His father was always there pushing him, making sure his son didn’t let his talent go to waste. There were times Renard would force his son to go to the gym instead of hanging out with his friends. They would fight about it on occasion. But once Tariq saw the results, he understood what his father was doing.
“He’s been everything for my basketball career,” Tariq said.
It was around this time last year Owens requested his release to transfer from St. John’s. Most expected him to either return to the Queens school or transfer to Maryland, his hometown school. But after visiting Texas Tech, seeing everything it could offer, from facilities to the winning culture coach Chris Beard had established, Owens was convinced it was the spot for him. Beard, in particular, was the No. 1 selling point.
“I saw the fire in coach’s eyes all the way back in the summertime when it would be easy to take a day off, just be a little lax,” Owens said. “But from Day 1 I got down there, coach was never relaxed. There wasn’t a day coach came in the gym and said, ‘We can get this time back.’ That’s why I always believed in him, believed in the vision he had for us.”
Owens had a terrific year, as the backbone to the Red Raiders’ stingy defense, blocking 2.4 shots per game. He also averaged 8.9 points and 5.8 rebounds, as Texas Tech reached its first-ever Final Four. But he traced part of his development to his three years at St. John’s, where he first emerged as one of the nation’s best shot-blockers. Owens holds no ill-will toward the program, and remains close to former teammates like Marvin Clark II, Bryan Trimble Jr. and Justin Simon. He nearly returned after getting his release.
“I loved St. John’s, I loved that program,” he said. “But I had to make a very tough decision and it ended up being the right decision, I feel.”